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FinCalculator

Debt Payoff Plan

How long until I'm debt-free?

List your debts and how much you can put toward them each month. You'll get your debt-free date and see which payoff method saves you the most money.

How to use this calculatorShow
  1. Step 1: Add each debt with its balance, interest rate (APR) and minimum payment — all on your monthly statement.
  2. Step 2: Enter the total you can afford to pay toward all your debts each month.
  3. Step 3: Pick a method — Avalanche saves the most money, Snowball gives you quicker wins — and see your debt-free date.

What you'll need

  • Your latest statements: for each debt, the balance, APR and minimum payment
  • How much you can pay toward debt each month in total

Don't know a number? Leave the example value in, or tap the ⓘ next to it. New to this? Read the Beginner's Guide →

Your debts
  1. Debt 1
  2. Debt 2
  3. Debt 3
Your plan
Strategy

Used to turn months into payoff dates.

Debt-free date (Avalanche)

Nov 2027

Putting $800 a month toward your debts with the Avalanche method, you'll be debt-free in 1 year, 10 months (Nov 2027) and pay $1,678 in interest.

Time to debt-free
1 year, 10 months
Total interest
$1,677.50
Total paid
$17,177.50

Payoff order

  1. 1. Store card $1,200 at 29.99%Paid off May 2026 · $67.36 interest
  2. 2. Credit card $4,500 at 24.99%Paid off Feb 2027 · $803.15 interest
  3. 3. Car loan $9,800 at 6.90%Paid off Nov 2027 · $806.99 interest

Avalanche vs. Snowball

Avalanche (highest APR first)

Debt-free
Nov 2027
Time
1 year, 10 months
Total interest
$1,677.50

Snowball (lowest balance first)

Debt-free
Nov 2027
Time
1 year, 10 months
Total interest
$1,677.50

What this means

In plain English

If you have more than one debt, you can get out faster by focusing. Pay the minimum on everything, then put every extra dollar toward one debt. When that one's gone, add its payment to the next one. Your payments "roll" forward and get bigger as you go.

There are two popular ways to choose which debt goes first:

  • Avalanche: highest interest rate first. This saves the most money.
  • Snowball: smallest balance first. You knock out whole debts sooner, which helps many people stay motivated.

Either one beats paying only the minimums.

When to use it

  • Finding your debt-free date
  • Deciding between Avalanche and Snowball
  • Seeing what difference an extra $50 or $100 a month makes

Example

A $1,000 credit card at 24% APR adds about $20 of interest in the first month.

  • Pay $15 a month and the balance actually grows — it will never be paid off.
  • Pay $50 a month and it's gone in 26 months, with about $290 of interest.

Watch out for

Spending the money you free up. The plan works because each paid-off debt's payment moves to the next one. If that money gets spent instead, it takes much longer. Also try not to add new charges to cards you're paying off.

The math (optional)

Each month, for each debt: interest = balance × APR ÷ 12. Then the minimums are paid, and the rest of your budget goes to the debt you're focusing on.

If your total payment isn't more than the monthly interest, the balance can't go down — so the calculator warns you instead of showing a payoff date.